No One is ever really themselfs ( including you)..

Its true. No one is ever themselves, never was, and never will be themselves. Let me explain...


The process that happens for someone to become 'themselves' comes from nothing but 'other people'. As infants we were 'taught' how to act, and our entire personality is constructed from getting influenced from different people, it starts with your parents and basically goes on from there and the number of people that influence you throughout your life begin to double, triple, etc. With that being said: How would you define individuality?

However, we have the power of carrying out and selecting and holding on to some peoples ideas/ personality traits more than others. In addition, we ourselves, carry out the same influential act around those people as well.

The only time 'we', as a society, consider someone 'acting like themselves' (as opposed to NOT acting like themselves) is when those people do NOT carry out 'other peoples' signature personality traits.

There are some unique features and character traits that belong to each person and the only time we, as a society, perceive someone as 'not' acting like themselves is when that someone carries out those 'signature' personality traits that belong to someone other than themselves (that as when we may perceive someone as non-original). But, those 'signature' personality traits that were 'stolen' where actually derived from many different peoples personality traits in the first place!

All the other times (when we ARE acting like ourselves) all we do is soak in lots of components from everyone's different personalities and pick up what we think is important and STAY away from what WE think is bad. When we choose to 'be remembered' to the 'third person' using someone elses 'signature personality traits' THAT is when we are officially considered 'NOT' ourselves/ non-original.

Conclusion being, there is a thinner line than what you would think between 'being original' and 'ourselves' and 'NOT being our selves'.

Define: individuality....

 

So what if we stop the "acting" then what?

 

You remind me of Socrates. You can make a couple sentences into a couple paragraphs - but if I really pay attention, every sentence does say something different.

And you can make such detailed analysis of a simple phenomenon that my attention span can't quite keep up. I feel frustrated that I read your posts because my brain condensed it so much, that I feel like you wasted my time. That's my bad though..

Well, it's yours too. And everyone's, I suppose. Fuck ya'll.

 

deoxy.org/egofalse.htm

 

Thats excactly how I felt, but it's pretty true

 

So in summary, people are influenced by other people.
What is your point?

 

to the OP, you can't in actuality be anything other than yourself. nothing else exists. whether you feel yourself or not, either way you're still where you are and who you are.

or whether you're "acting" yourself or not really does not make a difference. You simply Are.

Sorry, i do understand that this is only one perspective on this matter. The very cliche "spiritual" perspective.

 

There are several cases of children who have grown up in the wild devoid of human contact. They have no social skills and can not communicate verbally. Some are alleged to have even been brought up by animals and those that have often mimic the behavior of that species

Those that haven’t and have grown up on their own never really fully develop because they’ve missed that window of opportunity


Hotwater

 

I am not influenced by others. You're making a cliche of a cliche.

 

Actually, I was isolated as a child. I grew up slowly, but without any influence from other people. I can proudly say nobody, or no combination of people, are directly responsible for any aspects of my personality. I've never even went out of my way for approval from my parents or siblings, like most children would. Other people were always just kinda... there. Call me cold but, I never really acknowledged anybody else up until, what, a year ago when I discovered sex?

 

However true it might be that almost all of us are made up mostly from picking and taking with us what we want from others personalities, what makes everyone individual is how we take all the things we have gathered and put them together.

 

Meh. Its a dumb argument that a person's upbringing and culture shouldn't affect who they are.

 

My mom worked as a teacher for mentally handicapped people.

One of her students wasn't physically handicapped and had a healthy brain and such. Her problem was that she was completely neglected as a kid and was left in the cradle for long periods of time. She couldn't talk, couldn't walk, she had no personality at all. She had to be taught all of these things just to function in society.

 

Our ‘true selves’ depends on how we interrupt those influences.

 

of course not. One is always in a state of being, trying to be, wanting to be, and projecting being.

 

It is not a true statement to say no one is really ever themselves. You are not somebody else.

What you describe is a particular conjugation of the word ego.
This ego is a social currency. We make an ego in this regard for ourselves and we make an ego fashioned after our own, for every one else. We advertise the qualities in ourselves that we think makes us attractive in the eyes of others, and we attempt to conceal those things which will make us appear unworthy. This ego has as, an operating infrastructure of assessing the world, a range from suspicion at best to viciousness at worst.

Because it is a currency it looks for bargains. We give a little and expect a lot in return. The true economy between us is the measure you give is the measure you get. Since this ego sees giving little as a bargain it finds itself bearing a fundamental ineptitude or sense of unworthiness. This ego is not your friend, but is in essence a fearful thought. Nothing can depreciate your value except your own thoughts, and this ego always finds you, someone else, or some situation guilty.

 

That's so true. It is a rather nasty little bitch of a thing. I wonder what life would be like without it. And speculation?

 

Why don't you check it and see?

 

Excellent idea. I've been trying. It's a long and tough road though.

 

There is a cool trick for multiplying your assets, excuse debt.